


Carefree and In Denial

by distantattraction



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: M/M, Sylvain/Claude but briefly and as a punchline, just teens doing teen stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22594093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distantattraction/pseuds/distantattraction
Summary: Sylvain Gautier is definitely not gay, so he certainly doesn't have any reason to worry he might have a crush on Felix. None at all!Or so he thinks.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 146





	Carefree and In Denial

It's not like Sylvain has never considered the possibility that he may not be straight. It's been at the back of his mind ever since he accidentally hit on another boy at a festival. So he tries it out. He finds the hottest guy he knows and hooks up with him. They do it all: kissing, touching, hand jobs, sex. It's... okay.

Actually, it's bad. It's _boring._ Sylvain didn't even know sex _could_ be boring. But if he can't get into it with Claude von Riegan of all people, then Sylvain must just not be into guys.

It's kind of a relief to find out. He was starting to worry that he had a crush on Felix. How embarrassing would it be to have a crush on your meanest childhood friend? But it's reassuring to know that there's no particular reason he likes being around Felix besides good old-fashioned friendship. It's fun, even if Felix won't go pick up girls with him.

Sylvain wanders into the dining hall for lunch, feeling carefree and heterosexual. He makes an immediate beeline for Felix, who sits alone at a table off to the side.

"Hey, Felix," he says, sliding into the seat beside him. "Whatcha eating?"

"Gratin," Felix grunts.

"I get it. You want to put a little Gautier in you, right?" Sylvain says with a wink. It's actually a lot of Gautier cheese on that damn gratin. Sylvain doesn't know how people eat it. Just thinking about it makes him nervous. He has bad memories of his family's dairy goats.

Felix frowns. "Your shitty jokes are gonna ruin my appetite."

"Don't be like that! Here, I'll help." Sylvain snatches the spoon out of Felix's hand, scoops up some gratin, and holds it out. "Say 'ah.'"

There is a beat when Felix simply looks ahead, a dead look entering his eyes. Then he slaps the spoon into Sylvain's face. "Not the goats!" Sylvain screams as the blow knocks him off the bench.

Across the dining hall, Dimitri tucks into his own mountain of cheese. He chews peacefully as he watches Felix straddle Sylvain on the floor to force feed him gratin. "They're getting along as usual, I see," he says, taking another bite.

Sylvain is not the kind of man to learn from his mistakes, so the next evening finds him in Felix's room, lounging around instead of doing his homework. Sylvain kicks his feet up and watches Felix take notes from a textbook. Felix has a habit of chewing on his pens, so Sylvain watches to see if he can catch him in the act. No luck. Felix just taps his pen against the desk, annoyed.

Weirdly, even though he's looking right at Felix, Sylvain doesn't notice his hands moving until Felix pushes his face away. "Stop staring at me, asshole."

"Sorry, sorry," Sylvain says. It's not a sincere apology, but he's not a sincere guy. "I was just thinking that your hair looks really soft. What do you use on it, anyway?"

"We share a bathroom, idiot. It's the same shampoo everyone uses."

"Really?" Sylvain asks. "You use the free stuff? But you smell so good." He takes a loose lock of Felix's hair between his fingers and brings it to his nose.

Felix slaps his hand away, his cheeks going pink. "Quit touching me so casually."

"That's no way to talk to your childhood friend," Sylvain says. "Especially not your childhood friend whose piggyback rides you loved so much that you cried the first time I turned you down for one."

Felix throws his book in Sylvain's face. Sylvain hits the floor with a thud, the book bouncing off his forehead.

The next time he sees Felix, Sylvain's _I'm in trouble_ sensors go off immediately.

"Sylvain! There you are," Felix says. "The Professor has been wondering if you'll ever show your face at the training grounds again. I told them not to hold their breath, but they insisted I bring you to practice today." Felix crosses his arms. "So, are you going to come willingly, or do I have to take you there by force?"

Sylvain takes a step back. It's not like he's afraid of Felix or anything, but he's been dragged places by him before. It's rough on the shoulders. Felix pulls hard.

As if he can read Sylvain's mind, Felix narrows his eyes. _That_ makes him afraid. But before Sylvain can even turn around to run, Felix grabs him by the hand and tugs. Sylvain stumbles forward, struggling to get his feet under him. Without the slightest regard for Sylvain nearly falling behind him, Felix sets off for the training grounds.

Fortunately for Sylvain, he has practice in matching his stride to Felix's. Once he is able to walk properly, which takes a good minute, it becomes less of Felix pulling him along and more of them walking together. Hand-in-hand. But in a friendly, heterosexual way.

They are almost to the training grounds when Sylvain stops, preventing them from rounding the last corner. Felix turns to him, a frown ready on his face. "What now?"

"Well... When we get to the training grounds, you'll let go of my hand, right?" Sylvain asks. "So I wanted to stop before we got there."

Felix looks at him with an expression Sylvain can't quite identify. His eyes go wide, then his eyebrows start to come together, and _then_ his cheeks flush. Before Sylvain can see any more, Felix turns and starts walking again, leaving him to ponder what else his face is doing. Felix's ears are certainly red enough. And his hand, Sylvain notices, is still in Sylvain's. He wonders what would happen if he laced their fingers together right now. Felix would probably punch him.

Well, it's worth the risk.

Felix drags Sylvain and his brand new bruise into the training ring. "Ah, there you are," Byleth says. "I was hoping that--wait, what happened to your face? Trouble with another girl?"

"Something like that," Sylvain says, rubbing his head ruefully. Felix pointedly avoids eye contact with either of them.

"Hmm. Well, as I was saying, I wanted to make sure you are reviewing your swordsmanship. While you demonstrate proficiency in lances and mounted combat, you need to be able to defend yourself in close quarters. Spar with Felix."

"Hasn't he already beaten me up enough for one day?" Sylvain whines. Felix rolls his eyes at him while Byleth raises an eyebrow.

"I thought you said--"

"Here's a sword," Felix says, shoving a sheath into Sylvain's chest hard enough to push him back a step. 

They begin sparring while Byleth takes notes from the sideline. It goes predictably, with Felix soundly beating Sylvain in every round. But they all know that this exercise isn't about Sylvain winning. It's about him proving he's not useless with a sword.

And he's not. Sylvain may not practice, but he's still pretty decent in a swordfight. When Felix lunges at him with an unusual touch of clumsiness, Sylvain counters to the very best of his ability. He manages to send Felix's sword flying with a careful flick of his wrist.

Felix responds to being disarmed by grappling Sylvain, who is categorically unprepared for it. He hits the ground hard. Felix sits on top of him, smirking.

"Not bad, Sylvain," he says. "Not good, either. But not bad."

Sylvain looks up at him, a little dazed. Felix's face is flushed and sweaty. Stray hairs stick to his damp forehead. He looks really hot.

Byleth nods. "Good work, both of you. Sylvain, you're not as rusty as I feared, but I will be focusing more on your swordwork in coming classes. Make sure to attend, or I'll get Ferdinand to pester you about it."

"Professor. You wouldn't."

"Of course not! _If_ you show up to class." Byleth smiles dangerously. Sylvain is accordingly terrified. "Well, that's all I needed. You're both free to go."

"Right. Time for you to leave so I can get some real training in," Felix says. "That practice dummy over there ought to put up about as much fight as you did."

"I thought you said I wasn't bad!" Sylvain protests.

"Mm. Maybe it's just a very good practice dummy."

"You're so mean to me," Sylvain says, pouting. "As a punishment, I am going to stay in this training ring until you finish so I can watch you get all hot and sweaty."

Felix just thumps him on the head before drawing his sword.

The thing about Felix is that he always gets a proper workout in. When he hits the hour mark, Sylvain starts regretting his decision to stay and watch him. Sure, Felix is super cool and sexy when he fights, but he's not listening to any of the compliments Sylvain yells at him. Where's the fun in that! But he also can't leave without Felix calling him a weakling with no resolve. It's so hard to be friends with him. Sylvain lies down on his bench, eyes still trained on Felix.

Sylvain doesn't even realize he's dozing off until Felix shakes him awake. The sky is darker now. "What's up?" he says groggily.

"I don't think you did enough today to warrant a nap, Sylvain."

"Should've told me that before I fell asleep," Sylvain says, but he stands up anyway. He yawns, stretching his arms out above his head. "Is it dinner time yet?"

"Almost. I've gotta go take a shower." Felix turns to go and stops abruptly, one foot outstretched. He looks at Sylvain's hand, which has closed around his wrist. Sylvain is as surprised as Felix is. He doesn't remember reaching out. "What?" Felix asks. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"I don't want you to leave."

"Why not? Let go, I'm all sweaty." Felix is frustrated, which isn't new. But Sylvain doesn't have an answer for either of them. He just keeps looking at Felix.

He watches Felix's expression morph from mildly upset to nervous to... flustered? Is that why Felix's eyes keep darting between Sylvain's face and his hand?

"If you don't let go of me, I'm going to have to do something about it," Felix says.

Do what? Tackle him again? Not a problem. Sylvain kind of liked that. "Okay," he says.

Felix bites his lips. "Let go," he repeats. Sylvain doesn't move. Why would he let go when he's got Felix's full attention? "Fine, then." Felix's voice comes out like a whisper. How strange.

Felix leans in. Sylvain's mind races to figure out what's going on. A headbutt? A really slow headbutt? Should he move? Is it too late for that? Before Sylvain can settle on a course of action, Felix's lips meet his.

It's a kiss. It's not a headbutt, it's a kiss. A really good kiss. Felix even slips a little bit of tongue in there. When did he learn how to do that?

Sylvain is just starting to kiss back when Felix pulls away. "I told you to stop staring at me so much," he says. Felix quickly turns and runs out of the room, his face bright red. Sylvain barely notices him going. He just stands there with his jaw hanging open and his hand covering his mouth.

His lips are tingling, his cheeks are warm, and his heart is pounding so hard it might actually pop out of his chest. Is that something that can actually happen? Can Manuela magic it back into his ribcage if it does? He doesn't want to die before he can kiss Felix again. He really wants to kiss Felix again. He wants to hold Felix close, feel the hot press of their bodies against one another, maybe even suck his--

"Holy shit," Sylvain whispers into the empty room. "I'm definitely gay."

**Author's Note:**

> you ever have such bad physical chemistry with such a hot guy that you genuinely think you can't be gay if you didn't have fun hooking up with him
> 
> hit me up on twitter [@bottomsylvain](http://twitter.com/bottomsylvain)


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